


Hero

by CheetoFlavoredCake



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Briefly Implied Suicide, Depression?, Emotions, I just wrote this whilst listening to a piano cover from Zelda, Kinda Self Indulgent?, Link just contemplating everything, Other, Questioning, contemplating, really just need to read to understand, thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24978061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheetoFlavoredCake/pseuds/CheetoFlavoredCake
Summary: How a place thriving with evil could look so peaceful at a time like this was astounding. It showed that, despite the fact that bloodthirsty monsters lurked right around every corner, people were thriving.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! Sorry if this is a bit confusing, but I got a really strong urge to write this at like three in the morning after listening to a piano cover of Gerudo Valley from Ocarania of Time and this is just me scribbling down the vibe it gave me. I suggest listening to the cover whilst reading because its just breathtaking and gives a better experience. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Link to song: https://youtu.be/cvK-dRM9fL0

How a place thriving with evil could look so peaceful at a time like this was astounding. It showed that, despite the fact that bloodthirsty monsters lurked right around every corner, people were thriving.

Hyrule was thriving. The townspeople, the Zoras, the Gerudos, the Rito, and the Goron were still here. And they were counting on him. Even after a hundred years, they believed he would come back and save them, and he did. He came back, one hundred years later, with not a single memory. The thought of it killed him. Sure, he could be told, hundreds of times that he was the legendary Link, but it didn’t break the feeling. The feeling that deep down, he was failing everyone. The feeling that they were wrong about him. That he wasn’t the hero they were looking for, but just some Hylian from off the road.

He was a hero. He was told that he was countless times, but being told he wasn’t the same as feeling that he was. He felt like a sham, a lie. After a hundred years you’d think he matured and would have a better understanding of life and that, maybe, he’d be able to run full force towards the tainted castle and rid the world of its depression. But no, that wasn’t at all what he could do. 

He had met so many amazing people, people with true potential. Those were the type of people that, if put together, could do what he was told to do and probably more. Those people were worshiped and praised. They were royalty in their culture, and were treated as such. Sure, they were problematic in their own ways, but that should be expected. The reason being they were young. The princess of the Gerudo was just barely able to be considered a teen, for the love of Hyrule! He was just barely going into his twenties before he went into his deep slumber, but he wasn’t expected to mess up.

No, he was expected to just magically bounce back after a hundred years and defeat the evil entity that had been causing chaos over the land for the last century. He couldn’t just mess up, or he’d lose everyone's support and hope. Everyone who was counting on him would turn their backs on him if he messed up, and he couldn’t let that happen.

He was scared. He shouldn’t be, but yet here he was. He was scared to lose the ones he cared for. Scared to lose the people who entrusted their lives with him. Scared because he felt like a coward. Running from his problems wasn’t getting him anywhere. He knew that, but he didn’t care. As long as people were happy and hopeful, he would bottle up his emotions and continue to fight. He would sit and pretend like he was truly a legend. Tell himself that he wouldn’t give up because that would make him weak, tell himself that even the thought of taking a break would make him pathetic.

He would carry on with his journey and do all the small requests with a smile. A smile that may have made him look like he was enjoying every moment of his adventure when really he just felt hollow. So, so hollow. He was blank. Emotionless. If anyone truly looked at him they would be able to see that the lively sparkle was gone from his eyes and all that was left were dull, blue orbs staring off into the distance.

He’d spent half a year just swinging around a rusty blade and collecting mushrooms. He’d killed monsters only for them to come back full force. He’d gone days without sleep to be rewarded with nothing but empty pockets. He’d given his all for what? Nothing. He got nothing. Was he supposed to get something? Was he supposed to get a good feeling? A feeling of pride and joy because he’d accomplished something that he was told only he could do? He would never know.

It took him a year and a half just to get the master sword. The sword was no better than everything else in his opinion. Everything was the same to him. Colors blended around him, food had no flavour, textures were just hard to grasp. He was nothing but a hollow puppet. All he was built to do was to make people happy. 

Then why couldn’t he make himself happy? Why couldn’t he feel the joy of playing a game of tag with the local children? Why couldn’t he feel how good it felt to finally get a rest from a long day of foraging? Why couldn’t he feel just a drop of happiness in anything?

Pain. That was the last thing he could actually feel. No, he didn’t feel the pain of a keese hitting him repeatedly in the face. No he didn’t feel the pain when he fell off his horse because of a hard brawl. No, he didn’t feel the pain of starvation he got every once in a while. He felt the pain of disappointment. Disappointment in himself. Disappointment that he wasn’t the hero he was made to be. He was lonely, but he wouldn’t say that. He wouldn’t go and vent to one of the locals, he wouldn’t walk up to someone and say he was looking for someone to be with. He didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to be looked at as weak. Just imagine being a living legend and it turned out you were just a weak, pathetic, lie.

He was mentally tired. Tired of his thoughts that seemed all too loud. Tired of smiling and waving off everyone's concerns. Tired of saying he was fine. He wasn’t fine, and he wished, oh Hyrule did he wish, that he could just once say no. But everything he lived and went by told him no. So he just stayed and played as the champion. The hero. 

He had the spirits of the greatest champions to ever live on his side. He could channel their powers and use them as his own. It felt selfish to him. Everytime Mipha graced him with her healing, he felt selfish. Everytime he used Revali’s Gale he felt selfish. Everytime he used Urbosa’s Fury he felt selfish. And everytime he used Daruk’s Protection he felt selfish. No, he didn’t actually feel these things, but his mind told him he did.

He hated his mind with a burning passion. His thoughts would scream at him constantly and tell him exactly how he should feel. They told him he should feel selfish. They told him he should feel disgusted in himself. They even told him on numerous occasions that if he wasn’t the almighty hero, he would’ve been buried six feet under where he belonged. He wanted to scream. He wanted to yell. He wanted to bang his head against the wall and say it's not true. But how can someone change what they’ve learned to accept? How is he supposed to tell himself he’s doing what's right for himself and he should feel pride when he’s already managed to accept that he’s just doing this for the fame and praise. 

He doesn’t want the praise or the gifts. He doesn’t deserve it. No one should be giving him riches just because he happened to stumble across them in trouble. No one should be telling him that he’s amazing just because he could swing a sword around. No one should care. They shouldn’t care about what some lousy Hylian just because of a prophecy told as a children’s story. 

He may have been doing all this for everyone else’s sake but somehow he managed to get it into his head that he wasn’t. Maybe in another timeline, another universe, would he get to be happy. A universe where everything was fine. One where everyone was living in peace. Maybe he would have a lot of confidence and pride. Maybe a lover. Hell, maybe even a kid or two, but this just wasn’t the timeline. In this world, he lived a lie. He lived as a shell of what he should be. 

The land looked peaceful, with the just descending up, casting a warm glow on the trees and mountains. He could see Hyrule Castle from here, and even though that entity was circling it, it was a nice sight to see. The birds were just waking up, chirping loudly to make their presence known. 

He took one last glance before heaving his feet up and over the ledge he sat upon. Lifting himself up he turned around to face his only transport behind him. He dragged his feet towards the animal and huffed as he lifted himself up and upon it. As he straightened himself, he quickly got the idea of where he was going set in his mind. He looked forward gently, ordering the horse to move on forward. Guess he would just have to play as Link another day.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! Comments, kudos, and book marks appreciated greatly as well as constructive criticism! Have a nice rest of your day/night.


End file.
